1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices for connecting plumbing fixtures to waste drain conduits, and more particularly to the combination of an especially configured flanged drain body and sealing gasket which mounts a water closet on a supporting floor surface and sealingly interconnects the water closet and a waste drain conduit.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Traditionally, water closets are attached to the supporting floor and sealingly connected to a waste drain conduit by means of a body which is mechanically connected to both the water closet and the floor by means of suitable fasteners with the sealed interconnection being made by a lead and oakum joint. As is well known in the art, making up a lead and oakum joint is a time consuming operation and requires a relatively high degree of skill on the part of the installer.
Due to the skill and time factors involved in making up lead and oakum joints, several alternative devices have been proposed in efforts to reduce costs and simplify the installations. The alternative devices include what is commonly referred to as a "mechanical joint" for forming the sealed interconnection of the water closet and the waste drain conduit. Generally, these alternative prior art devices include a flanged drain body, compression gasket, and some sort of mechanical device for exerting compressive forces on the gasket for seal forming purposes.
Examples of this alternative type of device, which are the most relevant prior art known to the Applicant, are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,579,670; 3,896,511; 3,952,340; and 4,090,267.
In prior art U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,670, a sealing gasket and compression ring are located below and externally of the flanged drain body, all of which are in circumscribing relationship with the waste drain conduit. A plurality of screws extend downwardly from the flanged drain body to the compression ring and are used to move the compression ring axially toward the flanged drain body to axially exert compressive forces on the gasket which is interposed therebetween to cause radial expansion, or swelling, of the gasket into sealed engagement with the conduit and the flanged drain body. The downwardly extending plurality of screws must be brought into threaded engagement with aligned bores formed in the compression ring with this being a blind operation and thus not particularly easy to accomplish.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,511, the sealing gasket is disposed within the bore of the flanged drain body so as to be in circumscribing relationship with the waste drain conduit. An externally threaded compression ring is threadingly mounted in the bore of the flanged drain body and is moved axially downwardly to axially exert compressive forces which radially swells the gasket. As in all large diameter threaded devices, achieving a proper threaded engagement between the ring and the flanged drain body is not always easily accomplished and a special tool, such as a spanner wrench, is needed to achieve the desired and often needed amount of compression force. A particular problem with this type of device is that after it has been installed for any length of time, corrosion, contamination, and the like, will make it particularly difficult, if not impossible, to disassemble should it become necessary to repair or replace the closet flange or reset the water closet.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,340, is a device similar to that described above in regard to U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,511, with the exception that a snap ring is used in place of the externally threaded compression ring to exert axially applied compressive forces to radially swell and hold the gasket in place. The compressive forces exerted by the snap ring is not adjustable in that it is limited by the physical placement of the snap ring groove in which the snap ring is mounted. Additionally, should the need arise to remove the snap ring, such removal can be difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,267, provides another similar closet flange device which includes a flanged body with a compression gasket within the bore thereof and a flanged compression ring which is axially movable in the bore of the flanged drain body. The compression ring is moved downwardly into compressing engagement with the gasket by means of plural screws which interconnect the flanges of the body and the compression ring. As with any device which relies on circumferentially spaced multiple fasteners to exert an axially applied force, in this prior art device it can be very difficult to achieve equal circumferentially applied compressive forces on the gasket. And, as mentioned above, subsequent removal of threaded fasteners used in a hostile environment, such as is the case in closet flange applications, can prove difficult and sometimes impossible.
The above described mechanical joint closet flange devices while providing some installation labor saving advantages over the traditional closet flange which employs the lead and oakum joint sealing arrangement, they are not without problems as described above. And, generally, they are more expensive from an initial cost standpoint due to their being three component assemblies, i.e., flanged drain body, compression gasket and compression ring. Further, these prior art mechanical joint closet flanges require more than an ideal amount of installation time and skill.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved closet flange which overcomes some of the problems and shortcomings of the prior art.